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Last year we conducted a lenghty interview with MLSSoccer.com editor Greg Lalas. At the time we spoke with him, the site was undergoing struggles as it emerged in its new format. Last Spring, the new MLSSoccer.com replaced the outgoing MLSsoccer.net with great fanfare, as MLS took its website in house and completely redesigned the format and content. At the start, an array of technical issues created an uproar among MLS fans unable to access stats, video and other features of the website. According to Mr. Lalas, one of the key goals of the new site was to create a destination for fans of soccer to get information about MLS, world soccer and more. It took many fans some time to get accustomed to the new types of articles and commentary available on the site, but in year two the site is running smoothly. We thought we would take a look at the site in its current form.

Perhaps the best part of the site is the wealth of video and highlight options available to readers. The front page features entire game highlight packages, single goal replays and more. Purchasers of MatchDay Live also have access to a wide ranging library of full matches that are easily accessible and easy to use. Multi-media options like the weekly highlight show and the extra time podcast allow fans of the league to access in depth content in a variety media.

The written content is also quite varied, with a nice combination of league news, team specific stories and commentary. Interestingly, just 48 hours since the European final, there was no coverage of the Barcelona win. This suggests that the site has trended towards a more MLS-centered focus. The site also includes FutobolMLS.com, a section devoted to Spanish language coverage. At the bottom of the page, there are links to a number of features that provide in depth reporting, analysis and more.

Overall, MLSSoccer.com continues to grow into a great destination for American soccer fans seeking information, video and cvoerage of the league. The site is part of our regular rotation and should definitely be part of most fans dose of soccer coverage.

Time for a Memorial Day Version of the Monday After. We spent some of the weekend in the Boston area and were treated to a number of billboards on the major highways surrouding the City that were promoting the Revs/Manchester United match. The boards show images of players on both teams with large replicas of both teams’ crests. With the recent visit from the Galaxy, the upcoming US/Spain match and the Mancheter United visit, the Summer promises some sizable crowds for soccer at Gillette. Although Revs have struggled in the attendance department this year, these events could provide soccer fans in the area with the opportuinty to make the trip to Foxboro and perhaps return for a “regular” Revs game.

As we discussed multiple times in the last couple of weeks, the Fox network broadcast the Champions League final on Saturday afternoon. Some of the initial reviews of the broadcast were not favorable, but Martin Tyler carried the play by play and did his ususal professional job in communicating the game to the viewers. Most of the trouble lay with the non live action elements of the telecast. FOX included an odd piece with Michael Strahan comparing football and soccer and relied heavily on current and former US Internationals to provide analysis. Overall, there actual broadcast was of sufficient quality and the combination of top teams and an entertaining game should drive a successful ratings number.

Now on to attendance from a busy week in MLS. Mid-week numbers inlcluded just over 18k at Red Bull Arena, more than 36k in Seattle and almost 14,500 at the Home Depot Center (perhaps the lowest Galaxy attendance in HDC history?). Saturday got started with more than 20k in Toronto for a fairly remarkable match that was fun to watch. Vancouver sold out 21k seats while the Galaxy circus brought more than 21k into Foxboro. Columbus failed to clear 10k while Chicago almost hit 12k. Both Houston and Colorado were near 16,500 with solid numbers for both teams. RSL brought in about 14,600 while Portland brought in its ususal 18,600+.

On the road tonight, so we thought we would revisit an interview from early February with Revs COO Brian Bilello. After a tough start, Revs attendance has started to climb and Gillette stadium will soon be host to two big soccer events: Spain/USA and Revs/ManU. Since this interview was conducted, the Revs landed United Healthcare as a jersey sponsor and made productive use of Groupon, two of the items discussed below. How are the marketing efforts raised in the initial interview working in 2011?

Today, we were fortunate to have Revs COO Brian Bilello answer some questions about the Revs marketing strategies and efforts. The Revs have really amped up their online presence in the last couple of years and have started to aggressively use Twitter as a marketing tool. Also, their new blogger initiative is very innovative and should provide a great forum for fans to connect with their team. We last chatted with Mr. Bilello in April of 2009. A copy of that interview is here. Thanks to Mr. Bilello.

Footiebusiness.com: In a recent interview with the Sports Business Journal, you discussed the Revs’ decision to credential independent bloggers in 2011. What is the motivation behind that decision? Do you believe this will help the team better connect with its fans? What will qualify a blogger for a credential?

Brian Bilello: In terms of team communication, we’re always exploring ways to better inform, entertain and service our fans. During the past few years, social media has opened new avenues for bloggers to increase their reach to fans. In our case, they can tweet an entry with #Revs or post it on our Facebook wall and have it seen by tens of thousands of Revolution fans. Given that bloggers now have this larger promotional platform, they are reaching more and more fans and becoming greater influences in the soccer community. We feel it’s important to help them get accurate information about the team, so that has been the basis for this new initiative. In terms of qualifying, we’ll be looking to first credential those who have existing blogs and who regularly write content. It will be somewhat of a work in progress as we get into the season and we launch the program. But as you can imagine, we won’t be able to credential 100 bloggers, so we may have to create a new accreditation process at some point.

FB: Similarly, how are the Revs utilizing social media? Some teams are aggressively relying on Twitter, posting frequent training camp updates, linking to blog posts about the team and providing teasers about signings and ticket promotions, while others have been slower to adopt the technology. You are currently on Twitter as are members of the team’s communications staff. How do you anticipate the team using Twitter and Facebook going forward? Does the team have a policy on players using Twitter?

BB: In terms of Twitter and other social media tools, we’re going to continue to use them to update fans on the team, website content and events and give fans some snippets from behind the scenes. For me personally, it is a great way of getting real-time updates on soccer news as I follow all the relevant writers so when Kyle McCarthy or Grant Wahl post an article, I can see it right away. I also like the ability to be able to reach out to fans directly when they have questions about the team.

We don’t yet have any formal policies as they pertain to Facebook and Twitter with players. They are individuals and are, of course, free to do whatever they like, but we are in the process of creating suggested usage guidelines to help them navigate social media. That being said, we continually emphasize that commenting on Twitter or Facebook is the practically same as making an on-the-record statement to a reporter, so they need to be careful as to what they post or say.

FB: With respect to ticket promotions, last year the Revs used Groupon to sell more than 2,500 tickets to the Revs/Seattle game. Do you anticipate using Groupon in 2011? Is it possible to identify how many purchasers of that opportunity will become repeat visitors to Revs games? Does the team view that promotion as a success? Should fans expect other game day promotions in 2011?

BB: We’re certainly looking to work with Groupon again in 2011 but we’re have to be careful not to devalue our tickets through vehicles like this. As a one-off, it’s nice to be able to give fans a free t-shirt or other value-added amenity, but I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to just start throwing such significant discounts out on a regular basis. There is no direct method of tracking GroupOn purchasers since they are fairly protective of their lists. (After all, that list is their business.) However, we used other incentives in the stadium that night to encourage them to sign up for our newsletter, so could communicate with them directly about the team and upcoming games. That promotion was certainly a success and we are looking at more promotions in 2011.

FB: What is the Revs rate of season ticket renewal for 2011? Will the team announce its final season ticket numbers at some point during the season? What do the Revs offer as season ticket incentives?

BB: At this point we are at 82% with about two months to go in the process. Given past results, that will likely put us among the top 2-3 teams in the league for renewal percentage. That’s also off of a base that is essentially the median for the league.

We really try to provide our Season Ticket Holders the best service and benefits in the league, and this year especially they have rewarded us by coming back strong. Given our performance on the field last year, the success with our Season Ticket Holders renewals really speaks to the hard work done by our customer service team throughout the year. We offer a long list of benefits, including several exclusive STH events with owners, players and coaches, a dedicated parking lot, early stadium entry, discounts on additional tickets and pre-sale opportunities to events at Gillette Stadium (international soccer games, concerts, Patriots games, etc.), not to mention a great discount on their Revolution tickets versus face value. Ultimately, I look at our renewal success this year as a leap of faith by our Season Ticket Holders that we’re going to be better on the field. Now it is our job to reward them for that faith.

FB: Finally, Commissioner Garber announced in November that a number of teams will announce jersey sponsors for 2011. The Revs are one of the few remaining teams that have never had a jersey sponsor. Do you view that as a lost revenue opportunity over the past few years? Do you anticipate the Revs joining the list of teams with a jersey sponsor in 2011?

BB: Yes, it is a lost opportunity for us and we need to get a partnership finalized. We were very close this off-season, but it didn’t happen. We’re still in talks with a number of companies, but hard to put a timeline on it right now.

Full power tonight after some downed wires made posting impossible yesterday. Every so often, we take a look at how various media are covering soccer in the United States. We thought now was a good time to take a look at some mainstream sports outlets.

We’ll start with Sports Illustrated, where the most recent edition of the magazine to hit the newstands included a four page spread on the Cascadia rivalary. Written by Grant Wahl, the piece provides a great look at the Pacific Northwest and includes a fantastic photo of the banners and flags in the stands at Qwest Field at the Sounders/Timbers match as well as other images of the rivalary. Wahl includes interviews with coaches, players, Timber Joey, fans and more. The article is especially important beause it provides coverage of a great MLS story without a traditional particular event (e.g. MLS Cup, All Star Game, etc…) to build around.

With the Champions League final just days away, the front page of Foxsports.com includes multiple references to the match, including a banner advertisement promoting the game. Ryan Giggs’ unfortunate last few days are among the lead stories and additional ads about the match line both sides of the home page. The soccer section of the site includes even more in depth coverage of the upcoming Final.

The under appreciated Yahoo! Sports offers a wide range of soccer coverage with articles looking at an array of European soccer teams, players and matches. Finding the MLS coverage takes a little doing, but the MLS front page includes a number of pieces from Martin Rogers and links to Goal.com articles.

Yesterday we talked about the upcoming Fox broadcast of the Manchester United/Barcelona Champions League final. Last year, Fox felt so strongly about the ratings potential for the game that the network elected to show the match in lieu of its typical Saturday afternoon baseball. The Yankees/Mets game was bumped back a couple of hours and the Final was shown in its entirety. Some sources indicated that Fox was hoping to reach 2 million households with the game. The final in 2009 was seen by just over 1 million households on ESPN. The game had been scheduled to be broadcast on FX, but the network (which owns the American rights to three years of UEFA broadcasts), moved the game to to its main network.

However, the ultimate ratings last year were not nearly as good as expected, with the match scoring a 1.1. The 2011 match-up brings the teams with the best cache to network television. Barcelona and Manchester United have enormous followings in the United States and the ratings promise to be much better than last year.

The Sports Business Journal ran an excellent piece in its most recent edition about the success of Champions League broadcasts the family of Fox networks. According to the article, ad inventory for the final sold out in January, while the entire portfolio of Champions League telecasts sold out ad inventory for the entire season. According to the same article, the combined audience for the semifinals was 800,000.

We’ll discuss the broadcast in further detail after the match, but the continued broadcasts of these games on American television represents a significant leap forward for soccer in the United States.

Time for a Monday wrap of the weekend that was in American soccer. We’ll start with the Fox’s efforts to promote its Saturday afternoon broadcast of the upcoming Champions League Final. The game will feature as part of a “split” doubleheader on Fox that includes the match at 2:00 and a 7:00 baseball telecast. During the Mets/Yankees Saturday night game on Fox, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver were tasked to read a promo of the game (on multiple occassions) accompanied by graphics. Their read of the spot included some vanilla banter about the idea of Fox televising both a soccer and baseball match on the same day. A Saturday afternoon May is not prime television time, but the broadcast of a European soccer match on network television is remarkable given where soccer has come from in this country.

We forgot to note last week’s Sports Business Journal Q&A with Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush. The interview is worth a read, but some highlights include the addition of Westerra Credit Union as the full season presenting sponsor, key rolls for Porsche and Coors Light in the team’s sponsorship roster and a 30% increase in season ticket sales.

It was a solid attendance weekend in Major League Soccer. More than 18,300 were in Philly for the Union’s 2-1 victory over Chicago, while more than 25k were in Houston to see the Red Bulls and Dynamo play to a 2-2 draw. The late games on Saturday were quite solid, with 27k in Los Angeles for the Galaxy/Chivas match, 26k+ in Seattle for the Sounders and more than 18k in Portland for the Timbers. Only San Jose, with less than 10k in attendance, had a subpar night. On Sunday night, the Dallas crowd was impacted by bad weather, while the Rapids seemingly put together a very solid crowd for their match against TFC